Dallas builders are as hungry for labor as Dallas is for new buildings, both commercial and residential. And it's a hunger that's proved insatiable.

At a time when the demand for new projects is the highest it's been in recent memory, workers are hard to find, with many drawn to high-paying positions working the shale fields of the Permian Basin. The dearth of qualified employees causes project delays and, in combination with price increases for timber and steel, drives up construction costs.

There were 9,902 new housing starts in Dallas-Fort Worth from April-June, the mostsince the third quarter of 2006,according to industry analyst Residential Strategies.

Meanwhile, student loan debt in the U.S. has become a $1.5 trillion problem, even as a college degree becomes necessary to enter the workforce.

The combination of the labor shortage and the high cost of a four-year degree presents an opportunity for builders and schools to team up, connecting students to industry professionals and giving builders access to a talent pool to support the operations of their companies.

"We're actively recruiting through middle schools, high schools and technical schools to help people understand what they can do in the construction industry," said Ray Sedey, the southern region president for McCarthy, a commercial builder.

The problem is most acute with craft workers, but there's a need for managers and administrators as well.

The proportion of homebuilders who report a lack of available labor hit 60 percent in 2017, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Some local builders report project delays longer than 45 days, said David Lehde, director of government affairs for the Dallas Builders Association. In addition, the downsizing of temporary work visa programs and the immigration crackdown has reduced access to a significant feeder population for the construction industry.

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The DBA does outreach in schools, leads site tours and field trips and consults on workforce training programs across the metroplex. Promotion of trade education is one of its priorities, Lehde said.

The association's influence stretches across Garland, Dallas and Waxahachie independent school districts as well as Collin College, where it posits the construction industry as an option for those who can't afford a four-year degree or for whom another half-decade of school and a 9-to-5 desk job simply are not appealing.

"For so many years, there was this approach with students, intended or not ... that if you didn't have a four-year degree you weren't going to get ahead," Lehde said. "You run a risk of leaving people by the wayside. If you go into a trade, you're not some second-class citizen."

And now's a good time to cash a construction paycheck. Wages in construction have been on the rise since building picked up at the end of the recession, with the average hourly wage for all construction jobs in Texas climbing by more than 9 percent between June of 2017 and 2018 as employers compete for labor, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

It's not uncommon for construction workers to take home upward of $50,000 annually after just a few years of experience, Sedey said.

And though there's little doubt the industry would benefit from a more active pipeline with the school system, partnerships with big players in the industry give students, especially those from underprivileged backgrounds, a valuable opportunity, builders claim.

Dallas ISD runs a "collegiate academy" that allows students to get an associate's degree by the time they get their high school diploma through college prep and classes at nearby community colleges. One component of the program is technical training, including a construction management track at Wilmer Hutchins High School in southeast Dallas, which partners with Oncor, TEXO, the Regional Black Contractors Association and others.

One of the program's early success stories is rising sophomore Billy Monroe III, who has earned three college credits so far. He said the construction management program has given him a better understanding of technical work and the business opportunities in building.

"I feel like I'm learning every day, every time I'm in class," said Monroe, a rising sophomore in the construction management program at Wilmer Hutchins. "It's the perfect opportunity to excel. My parents, my family, they didn't have that same opportunity. I have to take full advantage of it."

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The collegiate academy gives students options — to graduate high school with an associate's and then work or finish a bachelor's in half the time. Builders claim that all they want to do by getting involved in these programs is show young people that building is a viable, respectable option for a career, though of course the companies stand to gain as well.

"We help them go from high school to college, and then there's a hand-off to employers," said Israel Cordero, deputy superintendent for DISD. The program helps students get free college credit and connections to industry leaders that can lead to jobs or paid internships after high school or after postsecondary education, should they choose to pursue it.

This comes at no small cost, and Cordero said the district has had to make cuts to other programs to support its college readiness initiatives — though Congress' recent renewal of the Perkins Act, a federal program that provides money to school districts for career and technical education, came as a relief to builders and educators alike.

At Wilmer Hutchins, the construction management program connects kids with professionals who lead site visits, serve as guest speakers and help teach the skills necessary to succeed in construction, said Principal Jasen Campbell.

"From my point of view, we're aligning our teaching with what the industry needs," he said.